6 County Housing Market Assessment
The following provides a county-level analysis of major trends impacting housing within Central Virginia Planning District region. All data has been disaggregated to show the differences between localities.
6.1 Takeaways
6.2 Population trends
From 2010 to 2020, Bedford County has grown more than any other locality in the region, experiencing a 16 percent increase. In fact, as of the 2020 Census, Bedford County (is more populous than the City of Lynchburg (79,462 versus 79,009, respectively).
Appomattox and Campbell experienced slight to moderate growth in the last decade, while Amherst County’s population declined by three percent.
Population growth in Bedford and Appomattox can be largely attributed to domestic migration. In Bedford specifically, there has been significant losses in population due to natural decreases, but domestic migration has outpaced those decreases to lead to a net increase in population.
The loss of population in Amherst County has largely been a result of domestic out migration over the decade, but also natural decreases. It was not until recently that Amherst began to see some growth again.
Campbell County’s population changes have been driven by international migration into the county for much of the last decade. And in 2021, domestic migration began to contribute towards growth whereas the county was previously seeing migration out of the county to other parts of the region, state, or nation.
Population projects show that Bedford County will continue to grow at a substantial rate over the next 30 years. Appomattox and Campbell will see slight growth, while Amherst is slated to see more population decline in the coming decades.